Speaking to the Defence Select Committee

On Tuesday, September 11, I’ll be appearing on a panel giving evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee on how mental healthcare for serving personnel, veterans and their families can be improved. The hearing starts at 11:30 am and will be broadcast live on parliament TV.

I’d love to hear specific suggestions on how services could be better — no matter how modest or ambitious. Even taking 10 seconds to write me a single sentence will help me to make my testimony count. I have enclosed links to submissions from earlier this year below.

Last month, I wrote a cover story for the Financial Times Weekend section on why we need to embrace new types of psychological therapies to give all trauma survivors — military or civilian — their best shot at recovery. The story garnered more than 150 comments, and I received a number of heartfelt personal emails. It was very encouraging to know how many people care so deeply about these matters.

Separately, I will be holding a live online event at 8pm UK time this Thursday, September 6 for people who want to explore new perspectives on depression, as an extension of my course: ‘Deep Work: the 11 Lessons I learned from depression.’ The theme of the event is “How can we reclaim our minds?” It’s free and lasts one hour. Email me if you want login details or to find out more.

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About Matthew Green

Journalism is a force for good when it’s used to expose what’s going wrong in the world and show ways to put things right. After 14 years working as a correspondent for Reuters and the Financial Times, I returned to London in 2013 to write my new book Aftershock: the untold story of suriving peace, which documents the stories of British military veterans and their families seeking new ways to heal from the trauma of war.

My first book was The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Joseph Kony, which chronicles my quest to meet the Ugandan warlord and understand his apparently insane war. I spent most of the rest of my time overseas reporting from countries in east and west Africa, and Afghanistan and Pakistan. These days, I’m working on various projects, including exploring how new paradigms in the spheres of psychotherapy, psychiatry and spirituality are transforming mental health.

Do check out my blog, and I love to keep in touch with readers so please subscribe to the mailing list using the box below or drop me a line via the contact form. Thank you!